Radeon HD3850 drops to ?109, 3870 X2 to ?315

Weeks after Nvidia launched its new mainstream thoroughbred, the 9600GT, ATI is upping the ante by lowering HD38xx series prices.

As of today, HD3850 256MB is available for as little as €109. This is more than enough for the HD3850 to hold on to its best buy crown in the segment, as you simply can't get anything close to it at such an appealing price tag.

The HD3870 has dropped under €150. Sapphire's single slot card is available in Germany for €146, here. Reference cards are available for just over €150.

If one isn't enough, you can get a dual GPU HD3870 X2 for as little as €315, here. Nvidia's sandwich 9800GX2 should be priced around the €549 mark and it won't have it easy against ATI's less potent but much more affordable HD3870 X2. For €475 you can get yourself an HD3870 X2 and a single HD3870, and thanks to CrossFireX, you can probably outrun the 9800GX2 in many apps.

It will be interesting to see how the market accepts it, but when it appears the 9800GX2 will be the fastest card out there.